Vol.20 No.5

Original Article

Impact of knee and low back pain on health-related quality of life in Japanese women: the Research on Osteoarthritis Against Disability (ROAD)

Authors

Shigeyuki Muraki1 , Toru Akune1 , Hiroyuki Oka2 , Yoshio En-yo3 , Munehito Yoshida3 , Akihiko Saika3 , Takao Suzuki4 , Hideyo Yoshida4 , Hideaki Ishibashi4 , Fumiaki Tokimura4 , Seizo Yamamoto4 , Kozo Nakamura5

  • Department of Clinical Motor System Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, 22nd Century Medical and Research Center, The University of Tokyo
  • Department of Joint Disease Research, Faculty of Medicine, 22nd Century Medical and Research Center, The University of Tokyo
  • Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Wakayama Medical University
  • Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology
  • Department of Sensory and Motor System Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Tokyo
Received:

22 December 2009

Accepted:

6 April 2010

Published online:

14 May 2010

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Abstract

Although knee and low back pain are major public health issues, little information is available on their impact on the quality of life (QOL). We have investigated the impact of knee and low back pain on the QOL in Japanese women by assessing the associations between knee pain and low back pain and various QOL domains using measures such as the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-8, EuroQOL, and the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index. From the 3,040 Japanese women participating in the Research on Osteoarthritis Against Disability (ROAD) study, we analyzed data on 1,369 women >40 years old (mean age 68.4 years). We further examined the associations of Kellgren?Lawrence (KL) grade at the knee and lumbar spine and the presence of vertebral fracture (VFx) with the magnitude of QOL loss in women with knee pain and low back pain, respectively. Knee pain and low back pain were found to be significantly associated with lower QOL scores among the women comprising the study cohort. In women with knee pain KL = 4, knee osteoarthritis was strongly associated with the magnitude of QOL loss. For women with low back pain, no significant associations were found between KL grade and magnitude of QOL loss, while there was a moderate association between the latter and VFx.

Key words

Epidemiology - Knee - Pain - Osteoarthritis - Quality of life